How do you get your boss to notice your work?
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In IT, your work can easily go unnoticed (since many bosses barely understand what you do), but we all know that is a career killer if you want promotions and raises.
Do you have any strategies that you use to get your boss to see your great work, without sounding boastful?
This discussion idea came to me because in this Podcast with Brian Gracely from The Cloudcast, he tells a story of a time where he strategically had his direct reports attend meetings and present a summary of the projects they've completed... which resulted in a good experience for his direct report, as well as an opportunity for his boss to see Brian's great work without him having to brag about it.
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@MikeSmithsBrain Depends on the company. If they have a ticketing system that can pull reports then your work should really speak for itself. This was the best part of working at a major hospital for me. I always knew exactly what my responsibilities were and how to bring it to the appropriate channels. Statistically I closed my tickets must faster than the average employee working there at the time--and they stayed resolved. That is why ticketing systems are fantastic provided someone is reviewing them IMHO.
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Write errors to their event logs, and then go over, bring it up in front of them, then "fix it."
Unfortunately, sometimes the better you are at your job, the less anyone knows you've done anything. I would just try to have regular meetings with your boss, talk about what you've done since the last meeting, and upcoming projects you'd like to tackle.
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Getting noticed is easy!
Getting the right kind of notice is very hard! -
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@aaron said in How do you get your boss to notice your work?:
@travisdh1 said in How do you get your boss to notice your work?:
Getting noticed is easy!
Getting the right kind of notice is very hard!A pair of dikes and a server room will get you noticed too!
Don't forget to put the incoming power supply outside the dikes and below water level. (New Orleans actually did!)
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@aaron said in How do you get your boss to notice your work?:
@travisdh1 I meant the diagonal cutter kind, not the levee kind lol
Well, that as well.
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@aaron said in How do you get your boss to notice your work?:
@travisdh1 said in How do you get your boss to notice your work?:
Getting noticed is easy!
Getting the right kind of notice is very hard!A pair of dikes and a server room will get you noticed too!
#nocontext
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Dress slutty... your boss will notice you.
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@MattSpeller said in How do you get your boss to notice your work?:
@aaron said in How do you get your boss to notice your work?:
@travisdh1 said in How do you get your boss to notice your work?:
Getting noticed is easy!
Getting the right kind of notice is very hard!A pair of dikes and a server room will get you noticed too!
#nocontext
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F***[moderated] up really badly?
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The point of solid IT is to be invisible to the end users. But management is different. Your direct manager should never be a question because that is their job. To manage you and thus know WTF you are doing.
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@aaron that's a smart way to do it if your boss doesn't have a weekly one-on-one in the schedule (like @jyates said), which I believe they should.
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@JaredBusch Agreed. But if they don't... ya gotta take matters into your own hands until you find a better boss.
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@RojoLoco said in How do you get your boss to notice your work?:
Dress slutty... your boss will notice you.
Every time I try this, the police are called.
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I don't mind going into my manager and telling him what I've been doing, but at the same time, my manager should take it upon himself to check in and understand what I'm doing and why.
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@aaron
@aaron said in How do you get your boss to notice your work?:
@MikeSmithsBrain said in How do you get your boss to notice your work?:
@aaron that's a smart way to do it if your boss doesn't have a weekly one-on-one in the schedule (like @jyates said), which I believe they should.
I've never liked weekly one-on-ones and that isn't what @jyates said, he said regular meetings, he did not say weekly. It's a huge waste of time. If someone has a problem, bring it up. It's weird to wait until a weekly meeting to me. I also see my superiors and some colleagues more often on video chat than in person, so it's not a good use of their time when they are physically with me to just talk aimlessly.
Weekly seems kind of close, also doesn't have to be one on one. If it's important, notify immediately. Even if your boss isn't going to be involved. Send an email, "Hey stuff and things, so I'm doing this thing. Should be done with it in X."
My current system, my boss has me send weekly emails to keep him up to date. Doesn't have to be an in depth report, just basics. Then we have a department meeting once every month, where were order Chinese food. This is where we discuss what we have been doing, and future stuff we plan on doing. Sometimes the meetings do seem kind of pointless, but free food makes happy employees.
